Letter to the editor - July 5

'Great American pastime' should be played by Americans

Stop by my house on just about any given evening and you’re apt to step right into the middle of a televised baseball game. That’s not to say we’re baseball fanatics, but we really enjoy watching “the Great American pastime.”

I especially enjoy watching players make plays that were thought to be impossible back when I put on my spikes every weekend and took to the field to play in YMCA League games.

Yes, players today are real miracle workers. The players who seem to stand out most seem to be those from other countries, like Japan and Latin America. This is possibly so because they seem to outnumber American players by such a large ratio.

And that brings me to the point I wish to make.

If the government on one hand seeks to prevent companies from moving overseas and taking American jobs with them, then why on the other hand do they allow professional sports teams to import players and deny Americans these jobs right here in America?

Let’s face it, player positions come with lucrative salaries and it doesn’t take a mastermind to see that when their playing days are over most of them retire to their homeland to live comfortably for life.

Meanwhile, many American players are stuck in the doldrums of the minor leagues for their entire career and get to retire on a paltry pension supplemented by a salary from some menial part-time job.

Mind you, I speak these words not with bias against any people, but with a profound feeling of fair play. Maybe it’s time for some enterprising rich person or maybe a group of businessmen to look into starting professional leagues at home and let the “Great American pastime” be played in America by Americans.

Bill Sconone

Clovis